Crews across British Columbia are busy with more than 300 new wildfires that have broken out since Tuesday because of a lightning storm.

B.C. Wildfire Service spokesman Ryan Turcot said dozens of the fires recorded in the last few days were in the Cariboo region, the area hard hit by last year’s record-breaking fire season.

“The vast majority of these new fire starts are attributable to the lightning activity we have been seeing,” said Turcot.

Unstable weather began Saturday but hundreds of lightning strikes occurred Tuesday and Turcot said the storms were expected to continue through the week.

Separate blazes in southern B.C. forced evacuation orders for two backcountry resorts: the lodge in Cathedral Provincial Park, south of Princeton, and the Kootenay Park Lodge in Kootenay National Park, near the Alberta boundary.

Flames from a 15-square-kilometre fire were creeping closer to the lodge in Cathedral Provincial Park and could cut into the single road leading to it, said Cameron Baughen, the emergency operations spokesman with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.

“There are people who hike through that area; the hiking trails are magnificent, some of the best in our area, so people could be as far as a day or two away from the lodge and not be aware that there are changing conditions,” he said.

Evacuation plans for the lodge began Tuesday, to ensure guests would be informed, said Baughen.

In southeastern B.C., Parks Canada said in a news release that its crews are managing several wildfires in Kootenay National and Banff National parks.

One of the lightning-caused fires sparked Tuesday was fanned by high winds overnight and was threatening Kootenay Park Lodge, while several park trails and three day-use areas were also closed.

Flames and heavy smoke also prompted the closure of Highway 93 between Radium and the Alberta boundary.

Dozens more fires sparked in the Prince George fire centre and were causing a lot of smoke in northeastern B.C.

Officials say smoke from multiple wildfires sparked by lightning is visible in 100 Mile House and Lac La Hache. Officials say no structures are threatened. Ground crews, helicopters and heavy equipment are responding to the new fires.

Environment Canada says there were 40,000 lightning strikes in B.C. over the past 24 hours, and that more lightning was expected Wednesday.

The fire hazard remains high to extreme throughout much of the province.

About 40,000 lightning strikes occurred in the last 24 hours across #BC.Over 100 new fires were started. Fire danger ratings remain high to extremeover southern B.C. More lightning is forecast throughout BC today. #BCStormpic.twitter.com/GsntmjdvnA

AIR QUALITY IMPROVES IN METRO

Meanwhile, an air quality alert has been lifted for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, but much of the rest of B.C. remains under a shroud of wildfire smoke.

Metro Vancouver ended its ground-level ozone advisory and for the Fraser Valley as cooler air moved into the area Wednesday.

Air quality alerts remain in place for more than three dozen regions covering much of the province.

Increased wildfire activity also led to evacuation alerts for separate wildfires burning east and west of Quesnel in central B.C., while the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has expanded an evacuation alert to cover nearly 900 properties in the Keremeos and Cawston areas.

The wildfire service lists 10 fires of note, burning across five of B.C.’s six fire centres and Turcot urged extreme caution. He said several of the fires were extremely active Tuesday, driven by high winds.

“We are dealing with a lot of new lightning-driven activity. The last thing we need right now is human-caused fires to divert critical resources away from the fires we are responding to right now,” he said.

The wildfire service has recorded 1,085 wildfires since the season began on April 1, burning nearly 680-square kilometres of woodland.

(1/3) We're responding to 21 new fires in the Prince George Fire Centre (northeastern #BC) today. The fires are being assessed and will be actioned in priority sequence. Ground crews, helicopters, airtankers and heavy equipment are responding. #BCwildfire

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